A Round and "Hairy" Basket for Craft Boston

basket - Chocolate, Playing with the Bright Guys 7.5" x 9.75"

I'm getting reading for the Craft Boston Holiday Show. 190 juried crafts people from around the country in a broad mix of media will be exhibiting their one-of-a-kind and limited edition art works. The show is sponsored by the Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston, MA. From their website: Meeting in Boston in the spring of 1897, a small group of architects, educators, craftspeople, and collectors organized the first crafts exhibition to be held in this country … The success of this first exhibition provoked the organization of The Society of Arts and Crafts, it's purpose being "to develop and encourage higher standards in the handicrafts." 

Here's what my work and display looked like at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show a few weeks ago. (A number of these pieces have been sold, but I've been busy and will have new work for the Boston show.)

 The National Basketry Organization's exhibition "All things Considered VII" has opened at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA and will run through February 23, 2014. NBO's president and fellow basketmaker, Lois Russell, will speak at the December 15th reception. From their website: The exhibition highlights tradition and stretches the imagination of the viewer to new insights of basketry in the 21st century.

Baskets Share NBO's Cover with Rainbow Carrots

The National Basketry Organization's Quarterly Review is out. Their president, and fellow basketmaker, Lois Russell, wrote a great article about my home and work, with an unusual slant. In line with NBO's purpose "to promote the art, skill, heritage and education of traditional and contemporary basketry," Lois wrote about how basketry is only a part of my life. We talked about how nature, travel, and photography also have a role and significance in how I approach my work. Seeing the architecture in plants and how I view details through a camera lens, also feed into my creative process. She quoted me as saying, "It is all about paying attention ... [and] noticing the little things that get you excited." 

The article is loaded with basket photographs and includes a peek inside my greenhouse where I do the encaustic. Since the greenhouse had an exhaust system to draw out excess hot air, it provided an appropriate, ventilated space in which to work with the wax fumes. The photo shows the skillet in which I melt the encaustic, a combination of bees wax and damar resin, the brushes I use to apply the molten medium to my work, and the heat gun used to melt the wax/resin into the reed.

   

I spend a lot of time in the garden with Emma (in the photo below) and Kitt, the Cat, paying attention to colors and textures. Another source of basket inspiration is viewing and editing photographs on Instagram using online photo applications where I can experiment with color combinations. The basket in the lower left, is a result of one such experiment.  

  

A client sent me a grey and orange tile to suggest colors for a custom set of baskets. I worked on a series of dye lots for her, then wove the pair of baskets shown below.

Finally, on the right, is information about a workshop I'll be giving at the North Country Studio Workshop (NCSW), in Bennington, VT at the end of January 2014. In this class students will be encouraged to experiment and take their basketry beyond strictly functional vessel forms. NCSW is offering 13, 5-day workshops in various media taught by nationally recognized craft and fine art professionals in a range of media. You can go to their website for more information.

 

To see my work in person, I'll be exhibiting in 2 juried craft shows this fall. The Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show will be open November 6-10, and CraftBoston will be December 6-8. I hope to see you at one of these shows. You can see the work I'll be bringing on my website: karilonning.com.

Blog Update - International Articles

In an effort to update those of you who read this blog, there have been 2 international articles which have featured my work. The first article is from Australia by tractorgirl.com.au - here's the beginning of the article:

This one is from Slovania by g-studio.sk. One of my "hairy" baskets was included in a group of basketmakers from around the world who use traditional materials.

* Wishing all a Creative, Healthy, and Prosperous 2013 *

Here's an edited New Year's greeting to start the year (from a walk Emma and I took in the last hours of 2012).

I have a new-ish passion. I've been entering daily photo challenges on Instagram (a photo sharing, mobile device application) and interacting with photographers of all ages, from all around the world. As a community, they're a mostly young, tech savvy, visually oriented group who share their passion for photography and editing. Because this is a relatively new medium, and the people who participate share their techniques so generously, I've been learning at the speed of light. I still LOVE to weave, but I look at the world differently now, and see patterns and color combinations that I can apply to my weaving. It's a very exciting and stimulating time.

*Another way to see my edits, though not the photos of Emma and gardens is to go to my Instacanvas account. My username across social media platforms is "karibaskets."